There are several known devices designed for the treatment of substrates (e.g., those used as base elements for such electronic components as ceramic modules, printed circuit boards, etc.) and the like. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,142,010 (Pipkin et al.), 4,152,153 (Jackson et al.), 4,299,186 (Pipkin et al.), 4,387,124 (Pipkin) and 4,836,133 (Wohrle). See also International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation Technical Disclosure Bulletin (TDB) Vol. 23, No. 4 (Sept. 1980) at pages 1362 and 1363. More recent examples are defined in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,063,951 (Bard et al.) and 5,289,639 (Bard et al.), both assigned to the assignee of the present invention. With particular regard to U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,639, a fluid jet injector member is defined which includes strategically positioned apertures (jet injectors) for directing fluid jets onto a designated substrate. It will be understood from the following that the injector members taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,639 may be used in the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,639 is thereby incorporated herein by reference.
In addition to the above, there are known such fluid treatment devices wherein ultrasonic energy is utilized, e.g., to enhance the treatment process. Examples are shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,501,285 (Irwin et al.), 4,849,769 (Dressier), 4,979,994 (Dussault et al.), 5,037,208 (Dussault), 5,148,823 (Bran) and 5,203,798 (Watanabe et al.). Ultrasonic vibration is also described in IBM TDB Vol. 27, No. 11 (April, 1985), page 6395 (wave soldering), and in the following published Japanese documents: (1) JA 0044927 (Feb. 1991), Appl. No. 64-181025 (semiconductor substrate cleaning); and (2) JP 404206636 (July 1992), Appl. No. 2-330177 (semiconductor device cleaning). In such devices, the ultrasonic source (e.g., transducer) has typically been secured to (and thus operatively connected to) the fluid container to cause vibration thereof or has been immersed in a container of substantially stationary fluid.
By the term treatment (or treating) of substrates as used herein is meant to include functions such as coating, cleaning, chemical reaction, as well as others such as plating. One particular use of the invention is to facilitate dye or the like chemical penetration into cracks or other imperfections as might occur in relatively delicate articles such as ceramic substrates. The invention is adaptable to a wide variety of diverse processes and is not limited to the above, however. The term fluid as used herein is meant to include liquids, and is of course not limited to dyes.
As defined herein, the invention involves the use of fluid which flows across the substrate (e.g., ceramic base members) at predetermined rates as the substrate moves through the invention at a relatively high rate of travel. Significantly, the invention is able to incorporate the use of vibrational energy (e.g., ultrasonic) to particularly direct this energy onto the moving fluid at a relatively precise location on the substrate to enhance treatment thereof. As stated, one example of such treatment may involve the penetration of the ceramic by dye material to indicate the presence of imperfections (e.g., cracks) in the surfaces thereof. Clearly, however, the invention is readily adaptable for use in several other processes involving moving fluids and associated substrates. Significantly, the invention provides such enhanced treatment utilizing a partly submerged vibrational structure (e.g., ultrasonic horn) that is not physically connected to the invention's housing but instead substantially only exposed to the moving fluid. The invention thus does not require (or desire) housing vibration.
It is believed that a fluid treatment device and method having the advantageous features cited herein and otherwise discernible from the instant teachings would represent a significant advancement in the art.